Proposed for conventional electronic cameras of the type described above is a white balance adjusting capability enabling the camera to capture images with a natural color tone under changing light source characteristics (a type of luminescence tube, a luminescence method, a color tone, etc.). Known types of adjustment providing white balance adjusting capability include auto white balance in which white balance is adjusted automatically, preset white balance in which a user pre-selects a light source type, one-push white balance in which only a specified area is adjusted, and manual white balance in which white balance is adjusted arbitrarily.
However, in the electronic cameras as described above, the white balance must still be corrected after an image is captured when the white balance adjustment was insufficient. Particularly when photography is conducted on the basis of the setting of the manual white balance, there is a drawback that some operators must capture images many times in order to adjust the white balance by trial and error because no appropriate standard for adjusting the white balance was available.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera with improved operability.